WND EXCLUSIVE

Will Christians really vote for Romney?

After string of disappointing nominees, Republican alliance is crumbling

Some Christian and conservative voters may have qualms with Mitt Romney – namely his record on key issues like abortion, same-sex marriage and gun rights – but should the former Massachusetts governor secure the GOP nomination, he can still count on them to pull the lever for a Republican … right?

For over 30 years Christians in politics have been considered synonymous with the “religious right” and the “conservative base of the Republican Party.” But now a pair of authors is challenging the assumption that backing the GOP remains Christians’ best bet for advancing their values.

“This question was actually first raised by Joseph Farah himself four years ago in his book, ‘None of the Above,’” author and nationally syndicated radio host Steve Deace told WND. “In his book, he outlined the insanity of rallying behind John McCain, who had spent decades trying to sabotage everything conservatives care about.

“For some Christians, being Republican is synonymous with being Baptist or Catholic or Methodist,” Deace continued. “The Republican Party has preyed on that. We believe it’s time to advance principles over party. Becoming a subsidiary of the Republican Party has been a colossal failure.”

The book contains exclusive interviews with some of biggest names in faith and politics to find out – in their own words – whether Christians teaming with Republicans has actually advanced a conservative agenda … or stonewalled it.

“I’ll give you an example,” Deace told WND. “In the same week, the National Organization for Marriage endorsed Mitt Romney as a ‘true champion’ and then warned not to listen to his financial backers who are supporters of same-sex marriage. In the same week!

“Many patriots are scratching their heads and wondering how it’s possible to be stuck with ‘Obamney’ as a nominee right after so much progress was made electing principled grassroots patriots in 2010. This book answers that question,” Deace continued. “Romney isn’t the issue; he’s just the next well-funded hack to take advantage of a paradigm that sets us up for failure, and we’ve seen this play out many times.

“Ronald Reagan was the aberration,” Deace explained. “Ford, both Bushes, Dole, McCain and Romney are pretty much cut from the same cloth. … All of them were Republicrats, the ying to the ruling class’ Democrat yang. At best, they will better manage the decay, but at other times, actually advance it. We get what the left wants, either at breakneck speed or in a steady jog. If we do not heed the words of this book – most of them from some of the leading conservative activists and thinkers in the country – we will be stuck with another Mitt McCain or George W. Dole again in 2016.”

Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention

John Lofton of The American View

Tom Minnery, executive director of Focus on the Family’s CitizenLink

Judge Ray Moore

Some of the interviews reveal chilling words of warning from Christians inside the circles of influence; others reveal just how much some of those insider Christians have compromised.

“In ‘We Won’t Get Fooled Again,’ Steve and Gregg expose what I discovered long go, that there has been a conservative industry created,” testifies former Oklahoma U.S. Congressman J.C. Watts Jr. “Consultants, pundits, media types and even some in the faith community use push-button issues to drive us to the polls to vote for certain candidates to protect their deal. Conservative voters have to ask the tough question: ‘Are we moving the dial?'”

“We’re not trying to win argument [with this book],” Deace told WND, “we’re trying to start one. What is a Christian not allowed to do? Clearly the Bible has something to say on that. What can’t I vote for? It’s a question no one seems to want to articulate. And it’s a conversation long overdue.

“In the end,” Deace continued, “it may result in still being aligned with the GOP, but where the Republican Party becomes the vehicle we use to drive our issues, rather than the vehicle itself.”

Deace and Jackson claim, “For 30 years, Christians have rallied to the Republican Party in an effort to save the collective soul of America, only to have the Party leadership turn on them. … Now, on the brink of the most important election since 1980, are you ready for the truth?”